The first meeting after conference is always a marathon, and this one ran for seven hours. New member Steve Rotheram MP was welcomed along with Peter Wheeler, back after a two-year break. General secretary Iain McNicol opened by saying that we could not outspend the Tories so we had to out-organise them, and he was […]

NEC Meeting, Tuesday 25 September 2012 Ed Miliband previewed the themes of his conference speech: continuing to attack the Tories for unfairness, incompetence and failure even in their own terms; showing how Labour could make a difference now; developing an economy that works for everyone; and giving a sense of the kind of country Britain […]

This meeting marked the first anniversary of Iain McNicol’s election as general secretary. Looking back over an eventful year he stressed that community organising and building relationships with members and supporters were essential to counter the prevailing cynicism about politicians. His goal remained the same: to ensure that Labour spent only one term in opposition. […]

This was the first two-day meeting for years, and participants found it a much more satisfying experience. It was held at Aston University in Birmingham.  Ed Miliband addressed us, praising Birmingham Labour council for bringing in a living wage of £7.20 per hour for all employees as soon as they regained control. The country was […]

The NEC met in the new London HQ at Brewers Green, a vast improvement on the windowless cavern at Victoria Street. We welcomed Sadiq Khan, who replaces Peter Hain in the shadow cabinet section, and thanked Peter for his lead role in Refounding Labour. Deputy party Chair Tom Watson takes over this responsibility, with the […]

On Monday evening NEC members attended the parliamentary Labour party meeting. Many tributes were paid to the Chair Tony Lloyd, leaving after six years to stand as the police and crime commissioner for Manchester. In that time he has steered the PLP through electoral triumph and disaster, the expenses scandal and two leadership contests; he […]

Peter Hain, Chair of the national policy forum, gave a report. He circulated a list of shadow cabinet review groups, though these had not been updated since the reshuffle and it was still not clear how to engage with them. A shining exception is international development, where Ivan Lewis has written: “Following my appointment as […]